Do I get time off for vacation?

The ESA gives most people the right to either 2 or 3 weeks of vacation in a year. You earn your vacation by working 12 months for the same employer.

If you have worked less than 5 years for your employer, you get 2 weeks of vacation in a year.

If you have worked 5 years or more for your employer, you get 3 weeks of vacation in a year.

Earning your vacation

The period of 12 months in which you earn your vacation is called your "entitlement year". Your employer decides when this year begins. It could begin:

• when you start working for your employer
• on a different date, for example, January 1, if your employer uses the calendar year as the entitlement year

If the entitlement year starts on a date that is different than the date you started working, you still earn vacation from your first day of work to the day before the entitlement year begins.

Taking your vacation

Your employer has the right to decide when you can take your vacation, and whether you can take all of your vacation at the same time. If you get at least 2 weeks' vacation, your employer can say whether you can take all your vacation weeks in a row.

You do not have to take your vacation in periods of less than one week at a time, unless you want to. If this is what you want, ask your employer in writing and get your employer to agree in writing.

Your employer must let you take your vacation within 10 months of when you earn it.